Snow may have impeded jail progress

Although the goal remains to get the new Cole County Jail open by mid-April, the recent winter weather has caused some more work delays.

In a report to the County Commission on Thursday, Mike Smith with Septagon Construction, the project manager for the jail, reported snowstorms prevented workers

from getting to the site at High and Adams streets even though most of the work is on the interior of the building. He said the unusually cold weather has not allowed workers the two days they need to complete the masonry veneer.

“For all practical purposes, there was no progress this past month on exterior work,” Smith reported.

“The mason had one-and-a-half days this past month that were suitable for exterior work. Framing for the ceiling of the driveway can begin as soon as the remaining brick is finished.”

Smith also said installation of elevators was delayed a week because of the weather, but has now resumed. All of the mechanical trades have work that must be coordinated with the elevator installation.

All contractors are trying to finish their work by April 15, Smith said, and they’ve got to give all of them openings in order to get their work done.

Western District Commissioner Chris Wrigley suggested they could use April 22 as a final date since that’s the scheduled completion date for most of the work contracts.

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